The "better than" construction marketing selling model

This posting by Mel Lester is worthy of careful reading.  He addresses the challenges of selling professional services when you are not a professional yourself -- in other words, you are indeed a salesperson rather than a rainmaker.

The challenge, as Lester indicates, is that conventional sales representatives don't  have the technical expertise and knowledge to deliver real value -- at least if they behaves like "typical" representatives.  And there are few things more irritating to decision-makers than dealing with sales reps who bring nothing to the file other than their persistence in their selling efforts.  Conversely, the best way to win the order is to deliver value in the selling process; to show that you really have solutions that will provide value to the business or organization.  He suggests a variety of options, notably having enough knowledge to provide real support either in knowing where to go for the technical resource, or facilitating the overall process.

Assume the role of solution delivery facilitator. Although prospective clients would quickly recognize that I wasn't a technical expert, they learned to trust me as the conduit to the right technical resources within our firm—or even with other noncompeting firms. The platform for doing this effectively was both developing a general understanding of the technical issues (as mentioned above) and knowing who to go to within our firm (or outside if necessary) for any relevant client problem or need that was identified.

Lester suggests one option is for the rep to spend more time to really understand the technical stuff  and even to develop enough expertise that may be distinctive from the core business, so that the selling sessions are more about sharing and giving than pushing and prodding.

Actually, anyone selling professional services should try to avoid being characterized as a mere seller. You're an expert solution provider, even if the solutions come primarily through others' expertise. As I learned, the best way to change perceptions about your role is to serve clients rather than sell to them. And when you commit to serving instead of selling, you're more likely to uncover opportunities to use your own skills and knowledge to help clients.

Problem solving and delivering business value, after all, is hardly limited to the domain of the technical experts.

Metrics and Networking

The Society for Marketing Professional Service (SMPS) provides many really effective networking opportunities. In the online community, you can also consider the Design and Construction Network.

Mel Lester's latest E-Quip Blog provides some basic, but important, reminders about why and how to network effectively in business. Among other points, he reminds us that service and relationships rather than "selling" are at the core of successful networking.

Serve those in your network. Helping others is a great way to build relationships and, of course, to build service businesses like yours. Networking often fails to yield satisfying results when it is approached from a self-serving perspective. When you interact with others for the primary purpose of uncovering sales leads, it's common to find your network become increasingly unproductive. But when you are motivated to help others, most people are inclined to reciprocate. Serving your network includes:

• Providing timely information
• Making introductions and referrals
• Sharing ideas and advice
• Helping others succeed!

Then can you or (maybe worse) your organization be systematic and measure your networking success?

Here, in my opinion, things become as complex as the wildest and most obscure mathematical equation. Great networks after all are multi-dimensional. Your relationship quality and depth will vary, the person within your network will have varying levels of influence, and your influence with that person (and his or her own network) will vary depending on expertise, chance, personality, and how generous you are in sharing rather than taking.

And you can add another variable to the mix: The velocity of network development has accelerated with online resources, at the extreme measured in minutes with your number of Twitter followers.

I suppose you can measure the number of people you do something good for, the number of calls you return, the number of referrals you share, and the like. These measurements might encourage you to do more of the right thing. And it you are mathematically inclined, you might want to work out some Game Theory equations or the like to connect the dots and explain why and how you should network more effectively.

But that belies the point. Networking, to be successful, must be indirect and selfless. However it never hurts to be selfless in an environment where you can ultimately receive some returns for your efforts. That's why I advocate, especially for business-to-business marketers, that you participate in relevant associations and groups where your clients and potential clients congregate.

Crisis, change and opportunity

Mel Lester's description in his blog entry, Success, for a Change, of how a company successfully changed its business model to make safety a high priority is an enlightening reminder that sometimes really good things can happen when you push through and do things differently.

But change is hard. In Lester's story, the change occurred when his company's major client made it clear that safety must be a priority or it would lose business. Few things can motivate executives and employees to 'get it' than to realize they are about to lose their client (or job) if they don't shape up, and quickly.

My own business is seeing some changes now, as I recover from one of my more expensive blunders of recent years. Thinking we had successfully overcome the last major crisis and were on the way to rebuilding a massively successful company, I let go of key cash and business management controls, relying on inadequate financial reporting and measuring resources.

Costs skyrocketed just as the recession began tearing into our sales volume; and (worse), I pushed forward with business expansion plans thinking that "one bad month" would not thwart our success.

Well, the four-letter-word indeed hit the fan, and we suddenly faced an immediate business crisis. The solutions are still under-way, but we learned some important lessons which you may find helpful in your own business.

Little things count. Not because you are nit-picking, but because tackling the little things (quickly and without much time/effort) allows you to see and resolve the big picture. On Monday, for example, I cancelled a bill for a cell phone number I hadn't used in two years. We are especially careful in monitoring the credit card billing statements, checking them online every day, for charges which need explaining.

Decisiveness is vital. I've had to make hard, tough decisions, which impact on individual employees. In one case, I asked someone who joined us after a lengthy selection process to leave within two weeks of joining the company (fortunately, we had not lured the person from a better-paying job, so didn't harm the individual.)

Fairness and respect are essential. One of our employees combines income from hourly pay and contract work, with the understanding (at the outset) that his hours would be variable. Alas, he felt the immediate brunt of the cost controls, but we've worked to feed him additional freelance work (at lower cost than we are paying other suppliers) to help him maintain some degree of income stability.

Openness is crucial. Our previous accounting and reporting system clearly didn't do the job, but we have maintained it because employees, in receiving the reports before and during the crisis, can see the numbers and that the problems (and solutions) are real. Through Open Book Management, employees also are receiving the new, much more detailed and forward-looking reports. This openness has helped us to maintain trust and respect and proven to the employees that superficial cost cutting measures are not enough.

I can't say all of the decisions we've had to make have been easy, and some of the toughest choices are imminent. But I'm now optimistic we'll pull through. You can, too, if you take charge and do what you need to do, while working openly and forthrightly with your employees to solve the problems.

Are you delivering the "branded experience"?

This chart from Mel Lester's E-Quip blog suggests that loyal clients occur when their experience is consistent, intentional, differentiated and valuable. How do you get there?

Mel Lester in his E-Quip blog clarifies and elaborates on the challenges and responsibilities of businesses to create a positive "branded experience". He writes:

What is the branded experience? The most helpful definition I've found comes from the Forum Corporation. They describe the branded experience as one characterized by four basic qualities: (1) consistent, (2) intentional, (3) differentiated, and (4) valued. Notice that the first two characteristics are dependent on the provider; the second two are discerned by the customer. The branded experience involves a partnership of a sort between the two parties.

Few AEC firms get this right, Lester suggests, especially in seeking and understanding client feedback. Lester suggests that many people in the business think they are doing things right, but their clients don't agree. I haven't got a great answer yet to the client feedback question, at least for AEC and professional service businesses. Retailers and mass market organizations can use some rather easy-to-co-ordinate and manage online survey tools, which simply don't work (or attract enough natural response) for professional or lower volume/higher sales value businesses. Third party telephone surveys, or client feedback calls, certainly can be used, but these I find are often irritating and forced. But maybe these work, and are necessary regardless. The issue here could be similar to my former attitude regarding regular weekly meetings and annual planning sessions and retreats. I used to think these were a waste of time and money. No more. They are mandatory parts of our business systems, now.

Does one size fit all? The answer is in the details.

If the common denominator at the SMPS conference is the best way to succeed in marketing AEC services is by generously sharing insights and services, does this mean the sharing needs to be the same for everyone, and is appropriate in all circumstances? The answer, of course, is that while the basic principal makes sense, you need to be more pragmatic in its execution. The devil, indeed, is in the details.

Take for example the disconnect between giving presentations at the conference and hoping to gain business from them. The commonest assertion in the selling of professional services is that strategically building your reputation with free articles in respected publications, white papers, and speaking engagements with your 'target' market, you'll build your name and recognition -- and attract business from the people who really count. So, indeed, most speakers at the SMPS conference had as their objective the goal of gaining leads and contacts for their own business/service.

Consultant Mel Lester, for example, shared some basic common ideas in his presentation, Marketing the Experience. His suggestion: AEC practitioners need to rethink the standard approach to business, especially the brochure-type websites where the story is all about the company, and not about the intended audience. He cited his own website, http://bizedge.biz/, where he said he has dozens of pages of useful free information, and only two or three pages of self-promotional material.

Originally, I had sat near the front of the meeting room where about 150 people were listening to his presentation, but the conference facilitator gently invited me to move to the rear because of the (presumably very disturbing) clattering of my keyboard -- I take notes by typing into the laptop, at 80 words per minute). So, I moved back, found an electric plug in at the rear of the room, and noticed something just a little disturbing. A few, then a few more, people got out of their chairs and left. (Most stayed to the end.)

But I knew something had not quite worked for some of the audience members, though it took a while to figure out exactly what had happened. Realistically, I realized the disconnect in trying to answer this question: "How can full-scale architectural or engineering practices, or for that matter general contractors, really "give away" that much on their websites?"

You aren't going to want to share everything about the practical day-to-day "give" on your job site, and you certainly aren't going to share the inner workings of how you saved money or time in serving your best clients, without at least checking with them ahead of time. And do most first-time (or for that matter) repeat visitors to AEC websites really go there to receive an information dump, or are they seeking some confidence and insights into the business operating the website? In other words, presumably people looking at AEC sites are interested in knowing: "Do these guys do the kind of work I need done, and do they have a reputation in that field?" Pictures, images, perhaps testimonials, and where appropriate, controlled use of emotional cues like music, video, and flash imagery would seem to work better than a whole pile of free information and resources.

Similarly, most professional practitioners who are successful in business draw the line between free services/information and giving away their core services. "Free estimates" may be appropriate in some consumer-oriented sectors, but are the kiss of death to really professional contractors and AEC professionals (there are exceptions to this, and every rule, of course). The point is that for most established contractors and AEC services, your website should be something of an electronic brochure, not a library of goodies that you give away.

But there are exceptions, and Lester proves the exception. Consultants selling consulting services must, in effect, share the core of their philosophy up front, for free, or nearly free. This builds relationships, and sales. And, indeed, while some people left the room at the SMPS conference, others gathered at the end of his presentation to greet him and ask him for more information.

The challenge is, frankly, defining your frame of reference for your generosity. If you are an architect, engineer, or contractor, you will need to think about where and how to make that connection. Your website or blog might be the right place, or maybe speaking engagements and presentations at conferences. But you may find your generosity is best shared with a little thoughtful connecting, or sharing referrals that generates useful business for your prospects. You may find the sharing is within the community, on non-profit boards and organizations. I can't tell you where you should share. But when you try to make one size fit all, you may find the fit is not that great for most.

The power of sharing

Fellow SMPS member bloggers Mel Lester (left) and Tim Klabunde discuss the finer points of blogging at the SMPS conference in Denver.

We left the SMPS conference at noon today, for a day at a High Country Club condo in Keystone, CO, about 100 miles west of Denver. Through the relaxing day tomorrow (before we return home on Sunday), I'll have more time to reflect on the conference, and provide some observations.

The single most important lesson suggested by several speakers is that successful marketing in the AEC world is all about sharing, giving, returning the favour of our good fortune, and relationships. In that regard, I succeeded at the conference even though I cannot track a dollar of direct business from attending, despite paying about $1,000 in conference fees, plus airfare, hotels, rental car fees, meals and so on.

The reason for this positive perspective is that I appreciate that really meaningful business (on a longer term scale) is measured not in days, and immediate Return on Investment, but in the connections, knowledge, and understanding of what it takes to be successful in this business. This is especially noticeable because I haven't yet had the privilege of linking closely with the foundation of SMPS success -- the local chapter.

Ontario will soon have Canada's first SMPS Chapter, and we have a modest business in North Carolina, where the association indeed has vibrant local chapters in the Research Triangle and Charlotte. But while North Carolina publisher Bob Kruhm can connect with the North Carolina Chapters, at present my place within the organization is just one of 13 Canadian members at large.

Fortunately, I decided to take some action and apply the first basic principal of marketing success -- engage in activities which you enjoy, are passionate about, and relate to your marketing objectives. I am a writer and journalist. So I started this blog. Then I proposed and wrote an article about blogging for The SMPS Marketer, the association's national magazine/journal. A few months later, I proposed a story about social networking. Then SMPS Editor Randy Pollock (who has been doing this work for the past decade), invited me to work on the Marketer's editorial committee, and this year, I've been assigned or initiated a collection of stories. (I am writing a piece about Public Private Partnerships for the next issue, with a deadline in just a few weeks.)

Yesterday, after the first working session where Randy Pollock hosted a panel discussion Navigating Uncertain Times: An Executive Briefing on What to Do Now, fellow blogger Tim Klabunde greeted me. We decided to have lunch, and on the way (talk about co-incidence), we met the third known SMPS blogger, Mel Lester (who gave his own presentation later in the day, Marketing the Experience.) Finding a spot in the exhibit area, as we ate our box lunches, we explored the whys and wherefores of blogging. Our mutual conclusion: This is very much a worthwhile activity, but we are doing it because we really enjoy it, and not because we are expecting any immediate business from it. (Though we can track business advantages and utility in the exercise.)

Yesterday evening, Randy Pollock invited Marketer contributions to sit at a special table at the SMPS Awards Gala, as several SMPS leaders received recognition -- including the founders, who created the organization from scratch just 35 years ago. (Today there are about 7,000 members). Other members received recognition for service to the association, their chapters, or their marketing communications materials. My rewards were, of course, less tangible, but no less meaningful.

At dinner, I asked Tim Klabunde what motivated him to start his excellent CofeBuz blog. He said, without hesitation, it was my blog. Seems I recognized one of his solid Marketer articles in a blog entry some months ago, and he decided to start his own blog. Tim certainly gets the message and shares it wherever he can -- networking is not about plastic phoniness, it is about real, lasting relationships, and the ability to give rather than worry about the take. The rewards arrive in due course.

These observations, I realize, do not help someone struggling to get by; especially some smaller-scale contractors in the residential sector, hammered hard by the spin-offs of the current crisis. I'm reading the stress of one contractor I know about in a closed forum; and it is disturbing in a way -- this contractor certainly cannot afford to fly to Denver, pay conference fees, and be told that you must patiently give and contribute, with the hope that you will find longer term relationships and business satisfaction.

Then again, however, I review this blog's history -- and its start a little less than two years ago when the business seemed to be hitting bottom, and (but for some fortunate chance occurrences) turned around; almost miraculously. I realize the start of this blog also coincided with a complete values shift in the way we relate to our clients. The troubled contractor is asking for help, and indeed is receiving support from his peers on the closed forum. This is right. Because giving and generosity do not preclude our right -- in fact our obligation -- to ask for help when we really need it. I will also work with him to help him overcome his crisis.

I sense next year I'll be giving a presentation at the conference; we will network with colleagues and businesses where we indeed have a direct business relationship, and that the excitement of contagious success will lead to mentoring, relationships, and even more business. For now, I'm happy that I can be part of an exciting, intelligent, and success-focused community; one which shares common values of mutual respect, sharing, generosity, and career satisfaction.

The E-Quip Blog (Mel Lester)

Consultant Mel Lester has started E-Quip Blog: Practice Management Insights for Managers of A/E Firms, which obviously qualifies for a permalink. He's started his blog by including entries from previous issues of his newsletter, with recent topics including Hiring the Right Rainmaker (a relevant topic for me, since I am assigned to write on that topic for the fall issue of The SMPS Marketer), You Are What You Measure, and Uncomfortable With Sales -- You Should Be.

In his first blog posting, Lester writes:

The E-Quip blog, I think, fills a gap in the blogosphere. I'm not aware of another blog devoted to practice management insights for managers of technical consulting and design firms (if you know of one, let me know). Your feedback on how to better address that need is coveted. Thanks for tuning in. I hope you continue to come back to this space and join the dialogue.

Here is a link to Lester's website: The Business Edge -- from Ideas to Implementation.